What Causes Clogged Sewer Lines?

The most critical piece of plumbing in any home is the main sewer line. When other plumbing fixtures, pipes, and drains aren't appropriately used, the sewer line can become clogged, resulting in significant repairs or replacement. That's why it's important to know what causes clogged sewer lines, and how to notice and react to early signs of trouble.

Clogs inside your home

One of the most straightforward explanations of why sewer lines become clogged starts inside your home. Sewer line clogging is generally difficult to notice. But if the source comes from other plumbing fixtures in your home, you're more likely to catch it early.

If you repeatedly deal with clogs in your bathroom or kitchen, it can lead to a clogged sewer line. To avoid dealing with this issue, you need to be careful about what you flush down the toilet and pour down the drain.

One of the main culprits that cause clogged sewer lines is cooking grease. Resist the urge to pour the cooking oil down the drain. If you store fat in a jar until it solidifies, instead, it's an excellent way to prevent sewer line clogging.

Tree roots infiltration

Big trees in your yard can cause issues with the sewer line. Tree roots seek any underground water sources during the dry season.

If you have older sewer lines, they're probably not protected with PVC pipes and are much easier to penetrate.

Also, fast-growing trees like oaks, sycamores, and ash species will have more aggressive root structures. Trees like maple, smoke trees, ginkgo, and dogwoods, are less likely to cause serious issues.

Pipe damage

When a sewer pipe is broken or ruptures, the sewage can't drain through the system, leading to instant and continuous backups.

Sewer pipe damage can happen as a result of shifting soil or increased traffic. It can also be due to the corrosion, causing a pipe to break suddenly. Another reason for sewer pipe damage is leaking joints that allow sewage and water to escape.

Flooding

Sewers can withstand rain, but only up to a point. Excessive rainfall can lead to flooding of the main sewer line.

The excess water can often reach the residential sewer lines, causing clogging. And while this is not something anyone can prevent, it still happens. Therefore, it's good to check the sewer lines after heavy rainfall or flooding.

Keeping the sewer lines clog-free

Clogged sewer lines are a nuisance, and there are times when there's nothing you can do to prevent it. But staying vigilant and checking what all household members pour down the drain and flush down the toilet means avoiding some clogging issues.

Also, if you have an old and large tree in your yard and old pipes in the ground, you might be looking at a problem soon, so hiring a pro to check it out would be very prudent.

Water Wise Plumbing offers Las Vegas area residential plumbing repair for water softeners, sewer lines, water line reroutes ,tankless water heaters, and more. We perform  water heater flush, sewer line camera inspection, hydro jetting. Call us today at (702) 605-6408.